Coking of oil



Nov. 13, 1934. J, Q MQRRELL v l1,980,218

' coxING'oF on,

Filed Dec. 28, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fyl.

UWM

Nov. 13, 1934.

COKING OF OIL Filed Dec. 28. 1931A Til .6A

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JE J5 J. c. MORRELL 2 sheets-sheet 2 y/Pimtented Nov. 13, 1934 COKING OF OIL Jacque C. Morrell, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Univelsalv Oil Products Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of South Dakota Application December 28, 1931, Serial No. 583,598

1 Claim.

This invention relates to' an improvement in the process for facilitating the cleaning of reaction or coking chambers and apparatus relating thereto. More particularly the invention is adapted to the type of cracking process in ywhich the oil is usually passed through a suitable heating or cracking coil and thence into an enlarged reaction chamber in which substantial quantities of coke are formed. In its broader aspects, however, the invention is notl limited to a cracking 'operation but may relate to any form of coking operation.

By means of the present invention, coke removal is greatly facilitated. This is important in connection with the manufacture of high antiknock gasoline in which process a greater percentage of coke may be formed as well as coke of a much harder nature, making it more dimcult to remove from the reaction chamber.

To this end, I provide a plurality of spaced members which preferably take the form of a lattice work and are capable of being charred so that they will easily break up during the removal of the coke. This lattice work, in effect, forms within the body or mass of coke what may be designated weak breakage planes along which the coke will break into smaller particles or bodies during the coke removing operation. If desired, the coke removal may be further facilitated by means of a cable-pulling operation of well known type.

It may be here stated that the lattice work referred to preferably is collapsible so that it can be more readily inserted into the reaction chamber. This lattice Work is preferably made of wooden strips spaced apart as shown in the drawings, or may be of some other material that will char under the heat in the coking chamber and thus be sufciently weakened to readily break when it is attempted to remove the coke from the chambers. f

The attached diagrammatic drawings illustrate a reaction chamber, such as that used in I the conversion of hydrocarbon oils, to which the principles of the present invention have been applied. I

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the chamber taken along the section indicated by line 1-1 in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same chamber,

shown partially in cross-section.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the same chamber, shown partially in a section taken along line 3-3, in- Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section of the latticework, assembled in compressed form ready to be inserted in the chamber.

Fig. 5'is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the lower portion of the reaction chamber provided with a slightly modified form of lattice-work.

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of the chamber taken along line 6 6, in Figure 5.

Referring particularly to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings: 'I'he shell of the chamber is indicated at 1. The upper manway opening is indicated at 2 and the lower manway opening at 3. Lattice-work structures 4 of wood or other easily charred material, extend across the chamber and preferably comprise members 5 and 6 joined substantiallyat right angles to each other, extending diagonally throughout the vtotal height or any desired portionl of the chamber. Structure 4 is preferably so constructed that it may be compressed, as illustrated in Fig. 4, for insertion through the manway openings so that it may be assembled outside the chamber. These latticework structures 4 may be expanded after their insertion into the chamber and may be suspended therein by means of hooks, as illustrated at 7, or by any other well known means. Othermembers of wood or other easily charred material, in-

. dicated in the drawings at 8, may be inserted in the openings provided between the members of the 'lattice-Work structure 4 and may rest upon the intersecting members 5 and 6 of this strucl ture. The members 8 are preferably placed substantially at right angles to the planes occupied by the structures 4, thus dividing the space Within the chamber in which carbonaceous material is to be deposited into a series of both horizontal and Vertical planes defined, prior to the deposition of the coke or carbonaceous material, by the members 5, 6 and 8 of the Wooden structure and subsequent to such deposition by vanes of charred Wood or charcoal, formed by the eect of heat in the deposited material upon said members 5, 6 and 8. This charring of the lattice-workstructure forms planes of weakness throughout the carbonaceous deposit which facilitate breakage and removal of said deposit from the chamber.

Referring now more especially to Figures 5 and 6 which illustrate a method of placing a lattice- Work structure in a reaction chamber in conjunction with a cable suspended within the chamber to assist in the removal of coke or carbonaceous material; the wall of the chamber is indicated at 1 and the lower manway opening at 3'. Lugs 9,

attached to the side Walls of the chamber at intervals around its inner circumference and at intervals in the vertical height of the chamber, supveus port wires 10 suspended radially across the innerdiameter of the chamber. Wires 10 in turn supportv a cable 11 which, as here illustrated, is wound spirally upon eachof the successive planes defined by the 'series of radial wires ,10.- The lower end of the cable 11 is anchored to the lower manway cover 12 vin any well known marmer as indicated at 13. After coke has been deposited within the chamber, in any known manner as by distillation'in the chamber, at a temperature of.

900 F. or higher, of `hot oil from a heating coil, or otherwise, manway cover 12 may be loosened and removed from the chambenleaving the lower end of cable 10 accessible so that it may be pulled, by

means of a winch or tractor or other suitable means, not shown, to disrupt the carbonaceous mass in which the cable is embedded, permitting its removal from the chamber. This method is well known and widely used. The novelty of the 4 method illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 comprises providing means for assisting disruption of the carbonaceous mass in combination with the use oi' a cable, said additional means being embodied .by the-'provision of thelpresent invention and consisting of a honeycomb or lattice-work structure of wood or other charrable members sup` ported-:upon the cable. The charrable members are indicated at 14 and preferably vcomprise both vertical members l5 and substantially horizontal members 16 and 17 so that when these' members charredv members. are charred by the heat of the carbonaceous mass in which they are embedded intersecting planes of weakened structure are created' which-extend both vertically and horizontally throughout said carbonaceous mass. It will be `apparent that upon pulling cable 11 the tendency of the coke or carbonaceous material will be to break alongthe pIanesdeIlned by the vanes of charred wood or othermaterial comprising the lattice-workstructure lso that'relatively large cubes or lumpsof coke will be broken away 'from the carbonaceous mass as the cable is pulled and a relatively small percentage of fine particles will result.

It'will be understood that the types of structure i shown in the drawings are only two of the many lforms which may be employed within the scope of the present invention, these particular structures being shown only'forthe purpose of clearly illustrating the features and the operability of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

wherein the oil is subjected to a coking temperature and a substantial body of coke deposited from the oil in the chamber, the method of facilitating the removal of the body of coke from the 'chamber -which comprises positioning in the In the coking,Y of. oil in enlargedchambers chamber in the form of a lattice-work a plurality 

